


Much Ado About Something

by LeoRodger24



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Much Ado About Nothing, Philinda - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 14:07:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16220669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeoRodger24/pseuds/LeoRodger24
Summary: Based on Much Ado About Nothing, Maria Hill, the avengers and the Bus team work together to trick May and Phil into believing that the other likes them, in order to get them to recognize their feelings for each other.





	Much Ado About Something

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic that I've finished so any feedback/constructive criticism would be appreciated. It's based on Much Ado About Nothing, with Philinda because they are A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E  
> In this fic Bahrain didn’t happen, Andrew and Ward don’t exist, the AoS team live in the Avengers compound with the Avengers and Maria Hill. It doesn’t really fit anywhere in the AoS timeline but I like it this way.  
> Also, this is pretty much angst, comfort, fluff. there's no sexual content or NSFW.  
>  I hope you enjoy!

Much Ado About Something

***

Melinda May overslept. By a lot. She didn’t know how her alarm hadn’t woken up but now she was running late to a briefing and didn’t have time for tea or tai chi so her brain was still about as organized as a plate of burnt scrambled eggs.  
Not a great start to the day.  
She was just in the door of the briefing room when her phone pinged and told her she’d received a file transfer from Maria Hill but she swiped the notification away before sitting down and trying to focus on whatever the briefing was on. And trying not to fall asleep in the meantime.  
God Sitwell was the most boring man on earth.  
It was Friday evening before May had a chance to look at whatever it was Maria had sent her, it was the first time she’d had a moment to herself in days and she was exhausted. She opened the message and saw that it was just a playlist, so she ignored it, and fell asleep on top of the covers in her room instead.  
The next morning she was up, showered, and had her breakfast before anyone else was awake. She was halfway through her tai chi morning routine when a very pissed off voice broke her concentration,  
“Hey, Earth to May, do you read me? I can’t believe you haven’t reacted to the playlist I sent you! It’s been days I know you saw it” it was Maria. More precisely, a very annoyed Maria.  
“I just haven’t had a chance to listen to it, I’ve been busy. I can listen to it later. No big deal.”  
“It’s not just a playlist! It’s a playlist that I found on Coulson’s phone when I stole it the other night titled “for Melinda” and I think you should listen to it. Trust me.” And with that, she left, leaving a very confused May in the sunroom on her own with her (very muddled) thoughts.  
When she’d completed her routine and was back in the peace and quiet of her own room, she opened the playlist on her phone and began playing it through her speakers, within a minute, “You’re The One That I Want” was filling her room, much to Melinda’s surprise.   
“What the hell?” this couldn’t be possible.  
She skipped it and instead heard “How Long Will I Love You” by Ellie Goulding, which wasn’t exactly Coulson’s usual listening material. She tried again and again to find a song that wasn’t a love song but instead found Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love”, Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”, “Rewrite The Stars” from The Greatest Showman and so many more that only muddled her mind more and more.

***

Meanwhile, Maria Hill was busy on the group chat she’d set up with some of the other Avengers, all of whom were aiming to get Phil and May together.

Philinda Shippers Unite  
contains 16 members

Maria: She’s listening to the playlist  
She’s in her room  
She’s pacing

Pepper: Well done   
When does phase 2 start?

Lian May: When are the men doing their bit?  
You women are doing it all  
All the planning, all the hints, all the subtle and not subtle nudges in what I hope for my daughter’s sake is the right direction

Maria: Yeah, boys?  
When you gonna do your bit?

Nat: When hell freezes over probably

Jemma: There is a town in Norway called Hell and it’s already frozen at this time of year

Daisy: Awesome Simmons  
But not relevant at all

Jemma: Sorry  
I see that now

Nat: Steve will be here in a sec  
Pepper, where’s Stark?

Pepper: In the lab  
Bruce, can you get him?

Banner: Why am I even here?  
They’ll get together in their own time

Bruce Banner has left the chat

Friday: Sir is on his way to the kitchen. I will send him a reminder

Pepper: Thanks Fri.

Steve: I’m here.   
Coulson’s going to the kitchen  
Tony, you get him to the living room

Tony: I’m here  
I’m ready  
Let’s go

Maria: Good luck guys

***

Phil was having a good day so far, he hadn’t been called in for anything, he’d had a good night’s sleep, and Mack had managed to repair Lola’s thrusters, so it was a great day.  
Well, it was a great day until he went to get a sandwich.  
May was in the kitchen, making some of her special tea. The special tea that she only ever drinks when she’s super stressed.  
“Hi May, you alright? You seem tense” she whipped around when he spoke, and her cheeks were damp and her eyes red. She all but threw her teabag into the sink before hurrying past him with her mug,  
“I’m fine”  
“Mel, you’re not fine, what’s wrong? Mel?  
He followed her through the building, past a very tired looking Tony, all the while trying to get her to talk to him but she didn’t turn back, she shut herself in her room and left him in the corridor outside where he sunk down to sit on the floor leaning against the doorframe.  
“Mel, I’m here for you if you want to talk. I won’t leave until you tell me to. I’m here. Whatever it is, it will be okay. I will personally make sure of it. You’ll be okay. I promise.”  
Normally, he’d leave her to it, but the look on her face when he walked into the kitchen had him worried, she never cried in public. And she never usually lied to him so obviously.  
Melinda leaned on the door and couldn’t stop the tears from running down her face. Phil was outside talking to her, “…. You’ll be okay. I promise” and she slid down the door until she was on the floor, a panel of wood separating her back from his.  
She didn’t know why she was crying, this whole situation was more than she could’ve ever hoped for, she’d shut down the hope that there could be anything between them long ago but then all these weird, mixed up feelings overwhelmed her and she couldn’t help but think that this could be a cruel prank, payback for spying on him that time on the bus, it could be the GH325 making him think he had feelings for her that he didn’t really have. Maybe Maria was trying to hurt her because she liked Phil and didn’t want to compete with May so she was making May get confused about her feelings and… no. Maria is her friend. She would never intentionally hurt May. 

Melinda got up and went to the window, looking at her phone she saw Pepper had texted her “May, I saw Nat and Maria talking about you in the living room by the back garden if you’re interested. Friday says they’ve been there a while but I can’t hear what they’re saying. They’re arguing.”  
She thought about it for a minute before climbing out the window and down the tree next to it. She needed a distraction 

A couple of minutes later she was behind the curtain on the balcony of the living room and, sure enough, could hear arguing coming from inside.  
“Why did you tell May that Phil’s in love with her? She should figure it out for herself; it’s not your call Maria”  
“If I’d left her to figure it out on her own, it would never happen! Phil is shy around her; he’d never tell her how he feels. It’s been what, 30 years? He’s never going to admit it to her and if I have to hear him vent about how amazing she is I. Will. Go. Insane.”  
“He really is head over heels for her isn’t he?”  
“Yeah, ever since they first sparred at the Academy.”  
“Jeez.”  
And at that point, May left, climbing back into her room and resting once more against the door and letting herself go over everything she’d heard. Phil had been in love with her since the Academy? Seriously?  
He thought she was amazing? She can’t help the wide smile that makes it onto her face.

***

Philinda Shippers Unite  
contains 15 members

Pepper: She saw you guys “arguing”  
She fell for it  
You guys were brilliant

Maria: Thanks

Nat: Thanks Pep, you too  
Guys, you ready?

Steve: Yeah, recording now

Tony: Decided that Clint and Steve will talk, Skye and Jemma will join in, and I’ll send it to Coulson

Daisy: My name is Daisy  
How do you not get that?  
You didn’t even know me when I went by Skye  
???

Tony: Sorry,  
I have no idea  
I am very tired

***

Phil startled when he received an audio-file from Tony and was very puzzled when he saw the message attached: “Hey Coulson, Friday recorded this a couple minutes ago, she decided to film it after a conversation she overheard between you and Maria yesterday. I don’t know what she’s on about, maybe it’s a flaw in her coding, let me know?”  
He didn’t have his headphones so he read the transcript:

Clint Barton: Seriously, Steve? Are you kidding? May really does like Phil?

Steven Grant Rogers: Yeah, Nat told me yesterday morning, I don’t know how I never saw it.

*the door opens then closes*

Clint Barton: Do you think we should tell Coulson?

Steven Grant Rogers: no, at least, not yet

Daisy Johnson: Tell Coulson what?

Steven Grant Rogers: Nothing, Daisy

Daisy Johnson: It must be something

Steven Grant Rogers: Yeah, but telling you would be the quickest way to tell Coulson

Daisy Johnson: Friday? What were they talking about?

Me: They were discussing whether or not to tell Philip Coulson that Melinda May is in love with him

Jemma Anne Simmons: She’s in love with him?

Daisy Johnson: Jemma, are you blind? She’s so obviously in love with him! She looks at him like he’s her whole world, how have you not noticed?

Steven Grant Rogers: See, I told you she liked him, Clint

End of Transcript

Phil had no idea what to think.  
In the end, he settled on “OMYGOD SHE LIKES ME BACK THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER” and couldn’t stop the inane grin that spread over his face before he remembered that May was upset and shut in her room.  
“Mel? Are you okay? Can we talk?”  
And he could barely hear the “okay” that followed.  
She opened the door with a soft click and sat down in the hall next to Phil. He looked really concerned. Concerned about her.  
“How are you feeling?” he asked her softly, and in response, she rested her head on his shoulder and said  
“I’m okay now.”  
He wriggled his arm out from where it was trapped between them and placed it around her shoulders and she shuffled closer into his side.  
“Phil?”  
“Yeah?”  
“I’m sorry about earlier”  
“Don’t be daft, feeling weird is okay. You don’t need to be sorry” he was always so understanding, “Do you want to talk about it?”  
“Yeah, I guess. It’s just… hard, you know?”  
“I do know.”  
“I’m just going to say it. I love you too”  
“What do you mean you love me too? How did you know I love you? Also, you really love me?”  
“I heard Maria and Nat arguing about whether or not to tell me that you love me, were they making it up? They made it up, didn’t they? Shit! Why would they do that?”  
May stood up and was about to leave and Phil could see her becoming very distressed so he got to his feet as quickly as he could, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her towards him,  
“They weren’t making anything up, I do love you, Mel, I really, really do. I love you so much.”  
“You…You do? Really?” the uncertainty in Mel’s voice nearly broke his heart. He swore to himself there and then that he would make sure that she would never feel so unsure about how amazing and beautiful she is. Never again.  
“So, so much”  
She buried her face into his neck and he wrapped his arms around her, combing a hand through her hair as he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head and much to his surprise, she burst into tears.  
“I’m sorry, did I do something wrong? What’s wrong Mel?” he pulled away and tried to search her face for any sign of what he did wrong.  
She could tell he was panicking so she leaned up, pulled him towards her and kissed him.   
It was perfect. His lips were soft and his stubble tickled her chin, he held her close, with one hand on the small of her back and one on the back of her neck. His hands were warm and she felt safe in his arms. She gently nibbled his lower lip and pulled back, her forehead resting against his, and his eyes looking into hers. He looked completely lost for words.  
“They were happy tears. I never let myself hope that this could ever happen,” she said by way of explanation. He grinned and hugged her tight, her head tucked under his chin, both of them smiling peacefully in each other’s arms.  
“I never let myself believe it could happen either. The idea seemed too good to be true.”  
“It’s true”   
“And really good”  
“So good”  
They ended up sitting against the wall in the corridor for hours, just talking and sometimes kissing. Around three in the morning, she fell asleep curled against his chest but he sat there awake for a while longer, thinking about how he’s the luckiest man in the world and how she looks so peaceful when she’s asleep and beautiful… she’s the most beautiful person in the universe.  
And he loves her more than anyone else in the world. More than anything else in the world.

***

He falls asleep around 4, and when he wakes up May is nowhere to be found and there’s a pillow behind his head. He gets up quickly and knocks on her door, at the same time trying to loosen up his stiff neck and back, but there’s no answer.  
He goes to the living room and finds the rest of the team eating breakfast and chatting, and when he asks where Melinda is they all share a look, and Maria looks particularly smug, he guesses it must be because she tricked Mel into admitting her feelings.  
“Guys? Mel? Where is she?” that seemed to amuse them all, and he couldn’t quite figure out why. When Maria finally answered, “she’s in the kitchen, why are you asking?” they all cracked up.  
“You’re weird. All of you. See you later”

***  
This time when he stepped into the kitchen she turned around to greet him and had a huge, bright smile on her face,  
“Hey, sleepy head”  
“Hey yourself”  
“Come here”  
He had barely taken one step forward when she met him in a kiss that took his breath away and filled his head with fireworks, her hands were linked behind his head, pulling him down toward her as she hummed into the kiss, swaying on the spot slightly as he held her.  
They only pulled away from each other when a flash from a camera caught the corner of her eye. It was Daisy, grinning like the Cheshire Cat then running as soon as she saw that they’d seen her.  
Phil half expected Mel to chase her but instead, she laughed and went back to making them both tea.  
She poured the pot into two thermos flasks and led him out into the garden.

***  
Daisy: GUYS THEY KISSED!!!!! THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!!!!! OUR PLAN WORKED!!!!! WE'RE AMAZING!!!!

Jemma: OMG it worked I'm so happy!!!!

Maria: YES it worked I'm so proud of all of you

Nat: I'm buying confetti

Lian May: I hope this was the right thing to do  
if he doesn't treat her right I'll rip off his balls and feed them to his dog

Daisy: He doesn't have a dog

Lian May: Do I care?

Steve: I can't believe they fell for it!

Daisy has attached a photo

Daisy: I caught them in the act!

Leo: Daisy they're our parents we don't want to see  
I mean we don't want to see  
They're our friends we don't want to see

Jemma: I do, they're so cute!

***

Both of them were awkward, catching each other’s eye and smiling every so often before she took the leap and brought up what happened the previous night.  
“Did you mean it? Everything you said last night?”  
“Every word. You?”  
“Every word, and thank you for the playlist”  
This was news to Phil, he hadn’t heard about the music Maria had sent her, “What playlist?”  
“The one on Spotify on your phone, called “for Melinda” it’s cute.”  
“I never made a playlist “for Melinda”, though I admit I have one on my computer called “For Mel <3” I’m guessing Maria sent you the other one? Because it’s fake”  
“Yeah she did and I’m honestly relieved. It’s a cute concept but the one she sent me had Ellie Goulding and One Direction on it. Doesn’t really seem like something you’d make.”  
“You think it’s a cute concept?”  
She smiled shyly in response and he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out “You’re cute, like really adorable” then his face turned red and so did she, she laughed and caught his hand in hers and they walked like that for a while until they came up to a large gap in the perimeter fence which she led him through as if she’d been here a hundred times before, and down a path into the woods.  
“Where are we going?”  
“Somewhere only we know”  
“Except I don’t know”  
“It’s the song, somewhere only we now by Lily Allen. It was on the playlist Maria made. And as to where we’re going, you’ll see.”   
They carried on in silence for a little while longer before she led him into a clearing with wildflowers growing around the edges.  
“It’s beautiful, how did you find it?”   
“Stark was doing my head in, I saw the path through the fence, cut my way through and followed it to here. I come here when it’s too loud or I’m stressed. I do my tai chi out here when it’s nice out, that way I don’t get interruptions”  
“I like it. I really do.”  
“Good, here’s your tea”  
They sat down leaning against a willow tree, drinking their tea in a nice kind of silence. It was a silence that didn’t need to be filled because they didn’t need to say anything, they knew that the other was happy in that moment, and that was all that mattered.  
When she shivered slightly because of the cold breeze that had picked up he draped his jacket around her shoulders and she cuddled closer into him, burying her face into his shirt as he traced patterns and swirls over her arm with his fingertips. He was happier then than he’d ever been, and so was she.  
“You know, I would have never have pegged you as a cuddler, Mel,” she sat up straighter and gave him The Look,   
“I am not a cuddler.”  
“Yes you are, it’s adorable”  
“I’m not”  
“Not even a little bit?”  
“Lil bit”  
“I love you, Mel”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, I didn't describe the kisses very well, hope you enjoyed it anyway! any feedback would be appreciated :)  
> thanks for reading :) :) :)


End file.
